Gospel Simplicity.: 2011

Proud to be an American.

Celebrating the 4th of July in Jerusalem was probably one of the most fun nights for me! First we met in the forum to have a little presentation.. and naturally we sang "Proud to be an America." Then we all went outside for a traditional American BBQ. It was great because it was pretty darn close to real American food. We all loved it! Then we danced to music and played games like 3 legged races and face painting. The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays in the U.S. so it almost felt like home. Oh, and I forgot to mention, we even had sparklers and the fireworks that occur every night in Jerusalem were a perfect fit for our celebration! I LOVED every minute of it. Happy Late Birthday American :) Here are the highlights...

4th of July Food :)

We LOVE America!

Dr. Christine and I.

Canton and I.

Cutest. pic. EVERR. of the Muhlestine kids!

Love this girl- Ashlou and I.

Drew and I showing our American spirit.

Wayna and I.

Jefferson and I.

Dan and I.

Jarrett, Angela and I goin fishin!

Berly and Rica!

My roommates and I- sometimes we get a little crazy!

Drew's talented artwork on Kimberly- doesn't she pull off the Joker look the best?

Drew did a lovely job on my face paint.

I drew a little firework on Jaker's face.

Dan and I... he pulls off the mustache just great, huh?

Jamie and I... LOVE her face paint.

Kim's crazy hair!

Then we all got a little crazy and teased our hair!

O Little Town of Bethlehem.

A little past half of the semester we switched from studying the Old Testament to the New Testament. We even got new teachers... instead of Brother Muhlestein I got Brother Judd, who was such a great teacher! Our first New Testament field trip was to Bethlehem. First we went to the Herodian, where there was anther palace of Herod, where he also died. Next we went to Bethlehem University. This was such a great experience because we got to talk with students our own age and get to learn a little more about the college atmosphere but in a different country, and the campus was absolutely gorgeous! Next we went to the Church of the Nativity, a place where many Christians believe is where Christ was born. Last of all we went to Shepherd's field, where we had a nice devotional and reflection time. My roommates and I sang a musical number, O Holy Night, along with other musical numbers, and we also had a testimony meeting. Oh, and I also bought my first olive wood nativity set on this field trip... what a good day! :)

Angela and I- Herodian.

Josh, Elise and I.

The Huntingtons and I.

Kliwi and I.

Cute Emily Judd and I.

Bethlehem University- Jefferson and I.

Church of the Nativity- Kristal and I.

Under the Sea... Eilot!

Our trip to Eilot was the BEST! It was a good long drive (4 hours) down to the coast of Israel. It was neat because as we drove down we learned that this was the same path that Lehi and his family would have taken in the olden days. We had the whole day to go snorkling in the Red Sea. It was amazing. The fish were beautiful and it was just fun to swim and relax with the whole Jerusalem crew. Afterwards we went to a little traditional Jewish restaurant for dinner, where we got the traditional Jewish Schnitzel for dinner. Then we made the long trip home... all in one day. What a GREAT day it was. I didn't get very many pics but here are some of the highlights!

Alyse, Drew and I.

Sister Chaddy and I.

Jenessa, Deidra and I.

The Ericas :)

Ashlou and I.

Remebering the Holocaust.

For one of our field trips we went to a Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem called Yad Vashem. It was a pretty powerful place. I have been to other Holocaust museums so I thought I would be fine but I got choked up in a few areas. The museum started off with history and about WWII. Then it went from how the Jews were put in Ghettos, concentration camps and finally extermination camps. Some of the pictures were pretty graphic and made me feel just horrible. It made me more fully appreciate how thankful I am for not having ever been persecuted for my religious or race. The hardest part about going throught this museum was reading and listening to the stories from survivors and their stories about losing or being separated from family members, never to see them again. There was also a section made in remembrance of all of the children and then finally a reflection room, which was great to sit down and soak in everything I had seen and learned about. Although it was horrible to see all that was at Yad Vashem, it was a good experience to learn more and to be humbled because of all that I have.

Scott, Me and Ashlou!

Tc, Me, Josiah and our Judaism teach Ophir!

Me and Strider!

Ashlou and I.

Dan and I.

What? Indiana Jones was really here?... Jordan Trip!

Our trip to Jordan was amazing. Besides looking forward to Petra I didn't really know what to expect, but it was great. I learned soo much about the country and all the sites we went to. I even had some of the most powerful spiritual experiences at some of the sites we visited, which I didn't really expect to have going into this trip. We went to Mt. Nebo, Church at Madaba, Macherus, Petra, Amman, Jabbok River, Amman Citidel, Jerash, and the Jordan River! Here are some of the highlights...